Not Applicable
Not Applicable
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to suspension systems for small aircraft landing gear and particularly to suspension systems for small aircraft landing gear that use polyurethane cylinders or disks as shock absorbing and suspension elements.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Small aircraft that have fixed landing gear must have some type of suspension system to handle the impacts of taxiing and landing. When a small plane lands and its wheels touch the ground, there must be some means for allowing the landing gear struts to deflect and then return to a normal loaded position. One system in use today uses a strut that has an automotive shock absorber type structure as part of the strut. This type of suspension is shown in FIG. 1, labeled as xe2x80x9cprior artxe2x80x9d. The shock absorber 100 uses a pair of elastic xe2x80x9cbungeexe2x80x9d cords on xe2x80x9cshock ringsxe2x80x9d. These cords stretch under load, such as landing, allowing the landing gear to spread under the load. The problem with these bungee cords is that when the aircraft has landed and the load recovers, the bungee cords then pull back and contract. This can have the effect of a slingshot that can actually propel the airplane back into the air. This can cause control difficulties and possibly even a crash.
The instant invention solves this problem. It is a shock absorber that uses polyurethane cylinders, discs or a combination of disks and cylinders. The cylinder is maintained under compression. When the aircraft lands or taxis, loads further compress the discs. Unlike bungee cords, however, the discs do not release their energy immediately. Rather, they release the energy slowly, which produces a smoother reaction to loads that eliminates any bounce back of the aircraft.